Daily Fantasy Hockey DFS Value Update – March 1

I generally do not pick two players playing against each other in the same game for a daily fantasy hockey lineup. The same applies for a goalie and a player from opposite teams. You might see two players among the “value picks” from opposite teams, but that doesn’t mean you should take them both. No matter the value, you’re also likely cannibalizing points, so any gains made below a certain price point – the point where production and cost intersect – can be lost if production declines overall as well.

There are many things that determine value: The player’s history (both short and long-term), the price, recent production, opponent, line matching at even-strength, power play time and injuries are just some of the factors to consider. The “Top Value” doesn’t necessarily mean the cheapest player, either.

Finally, as far as goalies go, it’s the one position I’ll pay through the nose for if I really like the match-up. The same applies for back-ups with good match-ups. In a given night, with a full slate of games, I won’t have more than three different goalies across all my lineups, usually two. I’ll name the goalies I like specifically in the match-ups they appear in.

Here is today’s slate of games (and DraftStreet values). Reminder: check Left Wing Lock for up-to-the-minute information on starting goalies.

Washington went to Florida a couple nights ago and put up five goals against Florida, a couple of them on the power play, en route to a 5-4 win. That game is a perfect example of how Washington has found their success this year: Special teams. The Caps took advantage of the worst power play in the NHL and got two points out of it. Of note was how well Alex Ovechkin played (1G, 2A) despite returning late from Sochi because of his health problems from his father. Also, it was John Carlson on the top power play unit and not Mike Green.

Boston looked a little shaky coming out of the Olympic break as they went down early in a game against Buffalo but managed to salvage a point even though they lost in overtime. A lot of this can be laid at the feet of back-up goalie Chad Johnson who got the nod in goal ahead of Tuukka Rask. For this game, Rask is expected to start for the Bruins and hopefully he picks up right where he left off coming back from Team Finland.

This is the first meeting between the two teams this year and promises to be a fun one: Will the possession game of Boston win out or can Washington make the difference on the power play? My money is on Boston even though I will not be stacking their players outright. Everything was back to normal on the power play for Boston last game with Zdeno Chara in front of the net on the first power play and Dougie Hamilton running the second unit as the lone defenseman.